Carolyn Cao ’28 (left), Sophia Fang ’28 (middle), and Maya Tomlinson ’28 (right) enjoy the carnival festivities.
Carnival attractions filled Flagstaff courtyard on Saturday for the annual Fall Carnival, as students gathered for an evening of food and entertainment. Participants in the annual Fall Carnival navigated a corn maze, rode a mechanical bull, ate ice cream, and relaxed with friends in honor of the first full week of school.
The carnival gave students across all grades a chance to socialize. Julius Theophilous ’30 noted that trying a wide array of activities with friends contributed to his experience.
“[I came] to socialize and to have fun with my friends. I enjoyed the fact that I got to play games and activities that I never really had the chance to participate in before… I met some new Juniors and some new Lowers, so that was cool,” said Theophilous.
The mechanical bull captured the attention of many participants. Though she enjoyed the bull ride, Lola Meinecke ’28 noticed that scattered events could lead to a lack of student interaction and proposed some solutions.
“The bull ride is something very cool [and] you can get physically active here… I feel like it would be cool if there’d be a communal event, for example, a dance floor or something where everyone could dance and not do separate activities,” said Meinecke.
At the center of the carnival were two large inflatable structures: a corn maze and an obstacle course. Compared to last year’s layout, the attractions were more tightly packed together, which gave students less space to roam. Camden Schopler ’27 enjoyed the obstacle course but wished the attractions were less cramped.
“I think the corn maze was really fun. I haven’t tried the race yet, but I’m looking forward to trying it with Genie [Han ’27], who said she will do it with me… They should spread out the events a bit more. Last year, it was more out[ward spread]. It was better that way, whereas this year’s all cramped into one location,” said Schopler.
Several students also enjoyed the ice cream truck on campus that night. Lilia Li ’28 noted a wide selection of flavors at the food stand.
“We were walking to Commons, and we saw the bouncy house [at the Festival], and it looked very fun… but I really enjoyed the ice cream machine because they [had] a large selection of different flavors,” said Li.
For many students, sharing an experience with people they knew made it more memorable. Li noted that attending with her friends has made her evening much more enjoyable.
“[Coming with friends] definitely [impacted my experience]. Coming here alone would feel a little bit sad, especially because a lot of the people here are with their friends, so [we] have more of a community that way,” said Li.
Chance Hernandez ’29 noted that relaxing with other members of the school community made his carnival experience memorable.
“I do think the main thing that really makes [the Fall Carnival] enjoyable, same with all the other events, is community, seeing friends, and having an excuse to hang out… It’s always nice when the school provides opportunities to relax, especially given the academic rigor that we go through,” said Hernandez.
